The present disclosure relates generally to methods and tools for removing a tapered sleeve bolt from a component.
Tapered sleeve bolts are used in various applications, such as in aircraft manufacturing, for holding components together. For example, the tapered sleeve bolts may be used to join together panels, structural members, structural ribs, aircraft skins and the like. The tapered sleeve bolts are received in openings in the components and secured using a nut to hold the components together. In various applications, the tapered sleeve bolt includes a sleeve having a tapered bore and a bolt received in the tapered bore. The bolt has a threaded end and the nut is threadably coupled to the threaded end to sandwich the components between a flange of the sleeve and the nut.
However, in certain situations, the tapered sleeve bolts may need to be removed. For instance, if parts of the tapered sleeve bolt are damaged or if parts of one or more of the components are damaged, the tapered sleeve bolts may need to be removed to replace the damaged part. Removal of the tapered sleeve bolt is a time consuming process and has the potential of damaging the components during removal. For instance, removal of the tapered sleeve bolt is a two-step process of first removing the bolt and second removing the sleeve using different tools. Typically, the bolt is removed using an impact device on the bottom end and/or against the head to drive the bolt out of the sleeve. Removal using impact methods is undesirable due to the potential of damaging and/or de-laminating the components. The sleeve is then removed in a separate operation with specialized and expensive tooling. Conventional sleeve removal tooling requires the purchase and maintenance of hundreds of separate tools corresponding to different diameter and different length sleeve combinations for extraction of the various sleeves.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and tool for removal of a tapered sleeve bolt from a component in a cost effective and reliable manner.